A narrative road trip game set in the roaring Italian 70s, it tells the story of Lella, a restless woman driving on the roads of the western coast of Italy, the famous "Via Aurelia". This is an interactive fiction in the shape of an isometric driving game and with a focus on replayability: every playthrough lasts about fifteen minutes and there are sixteen different endings to discover.
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Wheels of Aurelia 1978. is a visual novel based on different moments in time during Lella's travels with Olga and other hitchhikers found along the way. Released on all platforms in 2016. by Santa Ragione.
In this short visual novel, we take the role of Lella, while driving a car through Italy. The game is really short, each of the 16 endings can be finished in 15 minutes. Along the way you will meet different hitchhikers and characters that want to race you, where after winning the race, you'll get a new, faster car to use.
The story isn't voice acted, so you have to read everything while trying not to crash on every corner since the driving part of the game is terrible, the graphics are acceptable, but on higher resolutions they are blurry. The only thing I liked in this game is the Italian music on the radio.
The story isn't really engaging enough for me to try to get all 16 endings, it does point out some social aspects from that time, but they're executed poorly.
All in all, for those who want to get all achievements it is a short and easy game, but you're not going to have any fun while doing it. For others, it's not worth it.
In this short visual novel, we take the role of Lella, while driving a car through Italy. The game is really short, each of the 16 endings can be finished in 15 minutes. Along the way you will meet different hitchhikers and characters that want to race you, where after winning the race, you'll get a new, faster car to use.
The story isn't voice acted, so you have to read everything while trying not to crash on every corner since the driving part of the game is terrible, the graphics are acceptable, but on higher resolutions they are blurry. The only thing I liked in this game is the Italian music on the radio.
The story isn't really engaging enough for me to try to get all 16 endings, it does point out some social aspects from that time, but they're executed poorly.
All in all, for those who want to get all achievements it is a short and easy game, but you're not going to have any fun while doing it. For others, it's not worth it.
I really like the idea of the game, a roadtrip through 1970s Italy where you interact with a varied cast of characters and a focus on social issues of the time, but I got one ending of this game and it was so abrupt that it put me off a bit from continuing past that ending for the moment. Part of it also was some of the conversations and particularly the driving mechanic. A few of the little conversation dialogue trees I had, it felt like the other character's dialogue reaction was almost entirely unrelated (a glitch maybe?). The driving is also a bit clunky and particularly the turning feels kinda loose and slow which makes precision or avoiding some of it rough. Given that there are things like races and from what I know parts of it that you need to avoid driving wildly in it hurts my desire to go and get more endings.
Seriously though the first ending I had was less an ending and more that it just Stopped. I genuinely thought I was at, like, the first plot point and not an ending, and the result feels bizarre with someone you're supposed to have just met and have had like five conversations with. Given it feels like a very common ending to get (I picked up the first two hitchikers to see what it was like and then essentially just followed where the game sent me) to see it be so ??? is wild. Maybe I'll come back to it because it is very easy to go through more endings (it even lets you start mid-game) but I'm put off of it after one.
Seriously though the first ending I had was less an ending and more that it just Stopped. I genuinely thought I was at, like, the first plot point and not an ending, and the result feels bizarre with someone you're supposed to have just met and have had like five conversations with. Given it feels like a very common ending to get (I picked up the first two hitchikers to see what it was like and then essentially just followed where the game sent me) to see it be so ??? is wild. Maybe I'll come back to it because it is very easy to go through more endings (it even lets you start mid-game) but I'm put off of it after one.
Lot of issues but sometimes it's nice to play something 30 minutes long that has great music and I don't have to worry about getting tires that speed me up +0.5%.
nomeacuerdodena
A visual novel about a woman on a road trip in Italy in the 1970s. Despite its beautiful artwork and pleasant soundtrack, I just felt the experience wasn’t right for me, and likely won’t be right for most. Wheels of Aurelia would be best described as a visual choose-your-own adventure book. The main protagonist is Lella, a woman with a storied past looking to put it all behind her by travelling the Italian coast. Along her road trip she runs into a host of different characters, each with their own back stories and story progression. The story depends on which characters you engage with and which of the few forks in the road you choose to take. However your story plays out, there are ultimately sixteen different endings that are possible which can be discovered through multiple playthroughs. The most impressive aspects for me were the music and artwork. The soundtrack is an original composition which perfectly suits the beautifully hand drawn original artwork. Both do a wonderful job of capturing the essence of Italy during the 1970s. Unfortunately the stories and interactions are not nearly as engaging. From the main protagonist all the way through the complementary characters, I just didn’t find any of their stories interesting. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that in order to see each of the sixteen endings you need to either play through the same story until you get to a fork, or you’re given the option to skip ahead, which to me counters the intent of the game which is to have an experience.
I really wanted to like this. It’s a narrative driving game set in 1970s Italy. Stories are told in very short bursts where you pick up hitchhikers and drop them off (or not) along the way.
The problem I have is the car controls very poorly even if you use the “autopilot” you’ll still be crashing into other cars and when some story points rely on you getting places fast it’s a problem. I was frustrated to say the least. Also the stories are too brief for me to connect with or want to try and get every possible permutation of ending available. It’s a shame really.
The problem I have is the car controls very poorly even if you use the “autopilot” you’ll still be crashing into other cars and when some story points rely on you getting places fast it’s a problem. I was frustrated to say the least. Also the stories are too brief for me to connect with or want to try and get every possible permutation of ending available. It’s a shame really.